American Classic for Brompton

Brompton Bikes are a favorite here at Perennial Cycle. We pretty much love everything about them. The things we don’t love, we improve. The front wheel is a great example. If you have a standard front wheel on your Brompton, then you have a hub that is not meeting the quality of the rest of your bike. It passes as OK, at best.

Standard Brompton Front Hubs

I try not to be snobbish about bike parts as that can be a very deep hole to jump down, and for the most part I am very clear-headed about these things. I really doubt many would challenge me when I point out the front hub as a weak spot in the components on a Brompton.

Our Pro Wheels solve this problem. The Pro Wheels for Brompton are built in-house with either Phil Wood or American Classic hubs. Both these hubs are manufactured to the highest standards.DT Swiss spokes and Velocity Dyad (previous named Aeroheat) rims are used so that the end result is a lovely, yet long lasting premium front wheel for your Brompton Folding Bike. The Phil Wood hubs are world renowned for their ever beautiful and bomb-proof designs. Phil Wood manufactures in the US to the absolute highest standards. A wheel built up with a Phil Wood hub is going to be the envy of any bike nerd. American Classic is a company known for high quality, smooth hubs that keep a very close eye on weight. The American Classic Micro hub is designed to handle the stresses of a paired spoke pattern without allowing those stresses to throw off the smooth-running stainless cartridge bearings. This hub is a minimalist’s dream.

We hand build the American Classic Micro hub into a beautiful paired spoke wheel for your Brompton. OurAmerican Classic Pro Paired Front Wheelis a very lusty wheel at an ultra-light weight. This would be a great fit for any bike, especially if you dream of racing (and winning) the Brompton World Championship.

The Three versions of Phil Wood Pro Wheels

We use Phil Wood Hubs to build paired spoke wheels in addition to two different straight radial wheels. If you dream of touring with a T-Bag overstuffed with camping gear, you will love the Phil Wood Pro 28. It will handle your load and your miles with ease. The Phil Wood Pro 14 and Pro Paired are plenty durable for the typical commuter’s load. ThePro 14would be a bit more durable than the Pro Paired, but you'll be able to ride hard and ride far with either of these options.

As a side note, between mid-2013 and 2015 there were a number of Superlight Bromptons sold without Superlight wheels. Brompton had trouble sourcing the Superlight hub, so these bikes came with a wheel built with fancy spokes and the same hub and rim as the standard model bikes. These bikes are great candidates for a front wheel upgrade. You have a beautiful titanium bike with a hub that looks and feels like it belongs in the 80’s. The Pro Wheels are clearly what we at Perennial Cycle think would be your best choice, but a Brompton Superlight Wheelwould at least get you up to stock for those bikes.

Wondering if your Superlight Brompton has a Superlight front wheel? If your front wheel is attached with axle nuts it is not a Superlight wheel. The Superlight Wheel by Brompton is secured to the fork with an allen head skewer.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss building up a wheel that you are not seeing on our website, feel free to contact Perennial Cycle.